Moments Like These
by M.Turnerz
Summary: They say that opposites attract, but they're wrong. Opposites are the only ones who will remain together through sorrow and joy. Because you can't have one without the other. The world would crumble otherwise. Fluff to angst to everything in between. Tony-centric, Tony/OC. Ratings vary per prompt.
1. Chapter 1

_**#29 - Lies**_

_Word Count: 302  
__Rating: K+ (slight innuendo)_

The moment Tony discovered that Maggie, _his_ Maggie, his lawyer/PA/best friend/girlfriend/colleague Maggie was somehow involved with Loki was the moment his world started to crumble to pieces. Had he not just seen her under two hours ago, all smiles and kisses and caresses? It had been so…utterly _normal_ that his present situation didn't seem realistic. The thought that Maggie had been acting that way as a mere ruse only succeeded in making Tony sick to his stomach.

At the moment, he was gazing down at a woman who appeared and spoke like Maggie did, but was most definitely _not_ her. This woman was dressed in shining emerald and sparkling gold (though not much of it, to be honest), replacing the blue and black suit that kept her alive.

If it were under any other circumstances, Tony would have considered it a major turn-on. Now, it just made him feel disgusting and dirty, because Maggie would never act or dress like this in public for anyone to see.

Jarvis halted his thoughts by spewing forth some sort of statistics, but Tony couldn't listen even if he wanted to. He noticed that if he looked close enough, he could recognize the familiar blue current that ran across her skin in soft waves, matching her pulse. Her brown eyes were now covered in some kind of milky, pale blue film, which was the farthest from normal. It finally hit him right in the gut and he exhaled heavily in relief, hands still shaking.

She didn't lie. She wasn't with the bad guy. It was mind-control and she'll wake up soon. She'd wake up and they're going to laugh about this tomorrow and then he'd kiss her soundly and she would slowly melt in his arms and it would _be okay._

* * *

_**#14 - Daybreak**_

_Word Count: 171  
__Rating: T (sexual implications)_

Sunlight fell across the room through the cracks in the curtain. One rich brown eye peeled itself open and glanced around before it closed its owner groaned, turning onto his side. His movement was cut off by something next to him.

Not willing to open his eyes again, the man merely ran his right hand along the object, discovering it was smooth, cool, and soft. He followed the curves and traced his fingers through the various hollows until he realized it was a woman.

Reaching her waist, he trailed his hand even slower along her chest and shoulders, savoring in the changes in her breathing. Finally at her neck, the man smiled lightly and combed out a couple of tangles in her locks. The woman groaned and shifted, moving one hand over her chest and letting the other to run though her hair. Their fingers bumped into each other and tangled, making them pause.

After a silent moment they smiled and repositioned their hands in order to clasp them together tightly.

* * *

_**#1 - First Kiss**_

_Word Count: 494  
__Rating: K+ (sexual innuendos)_

The first time Tony and Maggie kissed, it had been a mistake.

A _colossal_ mistake.

Tony had been triple-dog-dared (a juvenile practice, but they were freshmen) to get Maggie Nolan to kiss him. At the time, the two had been best friends (they had, after all, lived in the same mansion since they were in the 3rd grade), and the very idea of being romantic to someone who was basically your sister was revolting. Tony had recoiled and grimaced at the 'friend' who had dealt the dare. He wanted to decline it, but…that was impossible. It was a triple-dog-dare! There was no way around that kind of dare.

Tony had always been attractive (and he had always known it). Now, being a freshman, his mind was focusing on other things besides computers and machines.

Naturally, as he began his master plan to woo Mags, he began to notice certain things about her.

Things like how her auburn hair fluttered behind her as she glided down the hallway, and how there was a certain way her hand moved when she flicked her bangs out of her face. How she never attempted to dress up everyday like other girls at school, opting instead to wear a form-fitting Batman t-shirt, blue jeans, Converse, and a faded blue hoodie and how she still managed to look so breath taking. How when she sang in the school's production of Grease, she shone with such radiance he couldn't bear to look away even for a moment and found himself attending every night. How the way she acted had nothing to do with what others thought of her (especially when she ate Doritos).

Of course he also happened to notice her curvy figure that had been early to bloom. Tony caught himself staring at her butt when she left his locker to head to French, and again when he stayed after to cheer her on for soccer try-outs. He didn't even attempt to count the number of times that he had focused on _other_ things than goalie techniques.

And for the first time, he noticed how she was the smartest, funniest, prettiest, coolest, nerdiest, and most talented girl he had ever met in his entire lifetime.

He was totally screwed for life.

He kissed her underneath a full moon, right in the middle of the park down the street from the school. It had lasted no more than five seconds, but if Tony had to rate all the kisses he had ever had from 1-10, this one would be the only 11.

_Sure_, she hadn't reacted at first. _Sure_, after Tony had pulled away, holding his breath, she had glared at him and shrieked and slapped him across the face. _Sure_, she had stomped away with a red face and fisted hands and Tony could only watch with the dopiest look on his face. _Sure_, she didn't speak to him until three weeks later.

It had been _so_ worth it.

* * *

_**#19 - Happy Birthday**_

_Word Count: 491  
__Rating: T (sexual innuendos)_

"Tony, you know I _resent_ being surprised. Let me see. _Now_."

"Nope. We're almost there. Don't get your little lace panties in a twist. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that you aren't wearing any. And I don't have anything against that. Well, not yet, at least."

"Tony, I—"

Before Maggie could growl the rest of her warning (she had threatened to change the password on her bedroom door once, and the thought terrified him), Tony uncovered her eyes and stood directly in the doorway, keeping his room hidden from her line of vision.

Maggie glared at Tony, but she couldn't hide the look of intrigue. Narrowing her eyes, she spoke with a hint of worry in her voice, "Oh, Lord, do _not_ tell me that this is Christmas all over again."

Tony only chuckled and side-stepped, allowing her to enter his dimly lit room. Maggie slowly walked into the room, keeping her cautious eyes fixed on Tony until she finally reached the edge of the king-sized bed. She paused, waiting for Tony's gesture to whatever he brought her in here for. He shook his head and pointedly looked over to the bureau. "You don't trust me? After all these years? I'm so hurt."

Maggie scoffed and made her way to the desk. Reaching inside the bag, she found an abnormally shaped package that was wrapped haphazardly due to its shape.

"Uhh...interesting...I see you wrapped it yourself."

Tony smiled with a short outburst of laughter before replying, "How could you possibly tell?" Maggie didn't even bother to glance at him, instead opting to raise an eyebrow and turn the package around in a mini inspection.

"It just screams of a, um, special Stark touch."

He embraced her from behind, circling his arms around her middle and resting his chin on her shoulder. "You would know about that, wouldn't you?"

She snorted in derision. "Good _Lord_, Tony. I've already explained that for my birthday this year, I'm calling the shots."

Maggie didn't need to see Tony to know that there was a pout currently aimed at the back of her head. She leaned back into his body before she carefully peeled the wrapping paper away (she noted that it just so happened to be the same red and gold of the Iron-Man suit..._clever_). Almost closing one eye in fear of all that could possibly be in the package, she was haunted by Gifts of Future Past. Last year, Tony had given her a serum that would "allow her to remove her arc-reactor suit" or something to that extent. The moment that she took one arm out of its sleeve, she had shot him out of the window and had to retrieve him before he hit the ground.

That had _not_ been something she considered fun.

"G*d, Mags, it's just an iPhone. Stop being so paranoid."

"And do you remember just how I lost the last one?"

"Point taken."

* * *

**A/N: All rights and properties belong to their respective owners. The only thing that belongs to me is Maggie Nolan.**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: The first prompt is actually part of a story I may write eventually, but until then you can have this. Only four this time, btdubs. I have absolutely NO time to write anymore, besides the weekends, and then I just wanna watch movies all day, so not much inspiration there…I'll try and get back into the hang of things, though. I get inspired when more people wanna read my stories, so leave a comment, please!  
~MickyinBoots_

* * *

_**#25 – Boxes**_

_Word Count: 499  
Rating: K  
Notes: I just wanted to make it clear that Maggie's dad was a good friend of Edward Stark and that when he disappeared, the Starks took her in (they did NOT adopt her). Tony and Maggie have been living as friends/siblings since they were third graders. Tony fell in love with her when they were freshmen._

Tony leaned against the brick wall of the apartment building, clicking a pen inside his pocket repeatedly. The moving men hauled the various sized boxes and furniture through the door and up the stairs, and every time they walked past him, he glared behind his sunglasses.

_Click-tick. Click-tick. Click-tick._

Finally, the last box had been unloaded and the U-Haul sputtered to life and drove away, leaving the 20-year-old alone on the sidewalk. The door beside him opened and closed.

_Click—_

"Hey, Tony."

_—tick._

"Hey, Mags."

The young man saw out of the corner of his eye that Maggie was bundled in her favorite Pepsi sweatshirt and her hands were stuffed in the pockets. She awkwardly shuffled her feet and Tony stopped clicking his pen. It was silent until they both spoke at once.

"This isn't the end, Tony."

"I love you, Maggie."

They both stared at each other, not quite catching what the other had said. Maggie raised her eyebrows and smiled a little. "What?" Tony shook his head quickly and stammered, "Y-you go first."

The brunette looked down at the pavement, letting her wavy hair fall over her shoulders and into her face. Leaning against the wall next to him and swiping her hair away, Maggie glanced up through her eyelashes. "This isn't the end. Of us. Of this. Our friendship." _Friendship._

"I just wanted you to know that whenever you need me, I'll be there for you. Just…call or text me or something and I'll drop everything and run, I promise. I'd do anything for you, Tony, and you need to know that." She stared intently at his face, waiting for a reaction. Tony shifted closer to her and tilted his head, letting their shoulders and hair touch slightly. He shoved gently and whispered, "Yeah, I do. I'd do the same for you." Smirking like he was 17, he continued, "If only I were more competent, right Mags?"

That brought a bright smile to her face and his heart leaped at the sight of it. "Exactly. So just let me know if you forget how to blink or something." Tony snorted and Maggie's smile widened to a cheeky grin. She stepped away from the wall and opened her arms for a hug, which he gladly gave her. He inhaled her scent as she rocked them back and forth gently.

"I'm gonna miss waking up to the smell of motor oil and sound of exploding machinery."

"I'm gonna miss waking up to your horrendous cooking."

Maggie pulled away with narrowed eyes. "Touché." She released him and he immediately missed her warmth, but he didn't say anything. Maggie was serious again as she spoke.

"Tony, I'm not kidding. I'm just living in a different part of New York. Just come over whenever you want, call, do whatever. I mean it. You're always gonna be my best friend." _Best friend. _She pulled him in for a hug again, this time a little teary-eyed. "Love you, Tony."

"Love you too, Maggie."

* * *

_**#43 – Punctual  
**  
Word Count: 149  
Rating: K_

"You're late."

"Fashionably."

"Extremely."

"Nuance."

Maggie scoffed as she helped Tony into his suit jacket and tie while rattling off the rest of his schedule for the day. "After your meeting, you have a press conference with the chairmen of the company, then another meeting with a possible client, then the benefit dinner, and—"

Tony stopped Maggie's hands and pulled them to his chest. He looked deeply into her eyes meaningfully with a smirk on his face. She blushed at the mere inches separating their faces. Tony pretended not to notice. "I thought by now you would be able to figure out that I won't make it to half of those and the half that I do I'll be at least 45 minutes late for." He shook his head, amazed that she hadn't. Walking down the corridor, he left Maggie behind to fume.

She yelled at his grinning form, "If you're such a genius, then why isn't the term 'punctual' in your vocabulary?!"

* * *

_**#3 – Numb  
**  
Word Count: 141  
Rating: K+ (mentions of death)_

In the past, people have told Tony he was crazy. Nuts. Lunatic. _Stark_ raving mad (leave it to Hawkeye to find the stupidest pun for his name _ever_). Of course, he just replied that all geniuses are. Now, though…he was beginning to think there was a tiny seed of truth in that statement.

'Cause come on, no one just ups and decides to intercept a nuclear bomb and fly it up into some wormhole that's about to close in order to destroy a bunch of freaking aliens. That's messed up.

_I've been called worse._

Yet when he lost feeling of his limbs and face, Tony could only see one face as his suit shorted out and left him in the dark.

_I never got to ask Maggie if she loved me like I loved her._

"TONY! GOD, NO! PLEASE!"

_I think she did._

* * *

_**#5 – Melody  
**  
Word Count: 222  
Rating: K+_

_"Wooooah we're halfway the-ere, WOOO-OOAH, livin' on a prayer!"_

Tony groaned loudly.

"Do you really have to do that when I'm working?"

"Would you rather I do it when you're sleeping?"

Tony put down his wrench and turned to Maggie with one hand resting on the work bench. "No, I'm saying I'd rather you not do it at all. It's horrendously annoying, especially when you screech on purpose just to get on my nerves."

Maggie looked at him with a 'No, duh' expression and, as if it were blatantly obvious, retorted, "Well, yeah, that's exactly why I do it in the first place." Tony face-palmed.

"Fine, just...sing a little more pleasantly? Please?"

"I suppose I may be able to do that. If I must." With that, she spun on her heel and left him alone in the room.

Later that night, Tony smiled when he heard a sweet voice singing in the living room when he entered. Maggie was sprawled in the recliner working on a tablet. Her head was nodding back and forth in time with her tune.

_"Georgia...ooooh, Georgia...just an old sweet song, keeps that Georgia on my mind..."_

He sat on the couch and closed his eyes, falling asleep to the slow and soft song. When Maggie looked up several minutes later, she found him smiling in his sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm gonna up the prompt count to 5 for each chapter. Since I don't update regularly, I'll just give you a little bonus._

_On another note, please, please, PLEASE, if you favorite or follow this story, could you PLEASE leave a review? It only takes a couple of seconds out of your day, and I really wanna hear what you think. And not just 'I love it!' or 'Please update!' I wanna know what you like or don't like about it.  
~Micky_

* * *

_**#41 – Words**_

_Word Count: 263  
Rating: T (language)_

"…_What did you just say?"_

He moved as fast as he possibly could, but she was still quicker. Tony practically launched himself across his desk and at the woman, but when he removed his face from the carpet, she was already out the door and halfway down the hall.

"Maggie! Hold on!"

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Maggie, you know I didn't mean it that way!"

He almost ran smack into her as she turned to slap him hard across the face. Falling back, he held his stinging cheek and looked up at her with wide eyes. She kept her back to him, but Tony could see she was shaking violently, but whether it was in pain or anger, he didn't know. After a moment, she spoke lowly, trying not to let her voice crack and give herself away.

"…How…could it mean anything else? What else could it possibly mean?!" Tony flinched back as she screamed the last part at him. He wasn't sure which was worse; her hiding her face from him or seeing the inevitable expression of brokenness if she turned. Sensing his inner conflict, Maggie squared her shoulders and stepped into the elevator just before the doors closed and hid her from his sight.

Meanwhile, Tony shook his head and fought back tears. _You idiot! Why would you ever say that to her?! You're so pathetic!_

He sighed and opened his eyes to stare at the opposite wall blankly for what could have been hours.

"_You know what, Maggie? I wish you had never survived that f*cking experiment in the first place!"_

* * *

_**#17 – Fireworks**_

_Word Count: 137  
Rating: T (sexual situations and language)_

The bed creaked as the couple fell on the bed heavily. Hands were touching, clothes were flying, mouths were moaning, and bodies were writhing. The woman groaned through a kiss and broke away, panting, "Please...Tony, please..." He didn't reply, only recaptured her lips as his hands began to travel further down. Her hands halted him, however, when they slowed and reached forward to touch him.

Maggie's fingertips grazed the metal in his chest and Tony's body tensed. He tried to laugh it off, forcing a chuckle and saying, "Heh, yeah, it's a real b*tch when you're trying to fall sleep." His words failed him when she leaned forward and with closed eyes, whispered an almost silent "Thank you" as she pressed a soft kiss to the glowing contraption.

To this day, Tony swears he felt it spark.

* * *

_**#18 – Wishing**_

_Word Count: 340  
Rating: K+ (slightly offensive slang)_

It was around midnight on a Saturday night, and the two teenagers lay on the roof of the mansion, gazing up at the starred sky. The taller one repositioned, turning his head around to his companion. His brow furrowed in worry when he noticed her eyes were closed and her face pinched. Rolling onto his stomach so he was almost touching her side, he reached out and touched her face gently. Her eyelids twitched with movement before they even opened to look at him.

"What?"

Tony rolled back away from her without a word. They stayed quiet until Maggie gasped and sat up. "Look!" Tony tilted his head upwards the sky again to find a bright streak fly across the darkness and out of sight. Fingers were suddenly wrapped around his arm as Maggie leaned against him, letting her short hair tickle his neck and cheek. Her smile was as wide as the cosmos as she breathlessly exclaimed, "Make a wish, Tony!" She didn't wait for his reply, squeezing her eyes shut tight and scrunching up her face like a 5-year-old. Tony just watched her in absolute amazement as a minute passed and she finally reopened her eyes.

"What did you wish for?"

_I wish…_

_You could see how Chelsea treats you behind your back. You would dump that twit of a douche-bag Bryan. You could get into that national choir you've been dreaming about so you can sing Music of the Night. You wouldn't cry anymore because of the pain of everything. You would smile at me more, or even look at me. You knew how much I love you._

As Tony wracked his mind for something appropriate to say, Maggie interrupted, "Wait, don't tell me, r'else it won't come true!" Secretly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As the night wore on, the teen kept staring at his dozing friend, one wish running through his mind as he fingered the short strands of hair that were gradually growing back from the treatments.

_I wish you never got sick._

* * *

_**#6 – Rules**_

_Word Count: 293  
Rating: K+ (slight innuendo)_

Tony was making some last minute adjustments on Maggie's suit, tinkering with the masterfully hidden control panel located on her back. As he inspected the intricate wiring, Maggie glared down at the ground. Any minute now, he expected that small patch of the carpet burst into flames. Pausing to rest his chin on her shoulder, Tony mumbled, "What's wrong?"

Maggie startled slightly and craned her neck to look Tony in the eye. "Nothing. I just wish you didn't have to run so many tests on me and my suit." Tony chuckled and righted himself, making his female counterpart huff and cross her arms.

"Why not? I thought you liked them?"

The shorter brunette twirled around in a flurry, making the loose wires on her back go flying in an arc. A look of frustration met Tony and he smirked as Maggie ranted.

"Why would I enjoy them? What ever gave you that impression? They take too long, I'm always complaining, it's extra work for you…I could go on for an hour! Please, enlighten me on what you find that's so enjoyable about this task!"

Tony replied back without pause, "I get to be close to you. To run my hands over your muscles and feel the way that you shiver whenever I touch bare skin."

Maggie, flustered, stepped back and didn't say anything for a moment. They continued staring at each other, one with shock and the other with a smirk. When she finally recovered her cognitive senses, Maggie shook her head, eyes still wide, but a smile slowly spreading across her visage.

"I think we need to set a few boundaries for you, Mr. Stark. People will start talking."

"As if they weren't already?"

"…Well, this way, we can have an alibi."

* * *

_**#32 – Diary**_

_Word Count: 260  
__Rating: K+ (mild language)__  
_

_Dear Diary (I can't believe I'm even writing these words),_

_As you probably know (since when was a piece of paper living creature capable of __neural activity?), the only reason I'm writing in you is because my therapist told me to. __I'm not doing this on my own accord, thank you very much. She told me to only write __my innermost secrets in here. So…I guess we'll just start with my biggest one._

_I'm in love with someone._

_I don't think he knows it, at least not that I can tell. I'm not sure if he loves me back, __either. I mean, we've been friends for…years. It would be awkward, wouldn't it? __Well, anyway._

_He's got these gorgeous brown liquid eyes that make me melt every time he so much __as glances at me. His smile does the same job, but it's actually crafted to disarm the __ladies. His eyes just do it automatically._

_I love the way his hair looks in the morning. It's always so ruffled and messy and he __looks so adorable when he walks into the kitchen rubbing the sleep out of his eyes __in the morning._

_He has an amazing body (you knew I would eventually get to it). He's not the most __muscular guy I've ever seen (uh, yeah, that would be the God of L'Oreal, easily), but he's so __fit and sculpted I could look at him all day._

_I am totally, utterly, completely, and irrevocably in love with—_

"TONY! NAT JUST TOLD ME YOU HIRED HER TO STEAL MY DIARY!"

"D*mnit, Natasha!"


	4. Chapter 4

_**#4 – Broken Wing**_

_Word Count: 245  
__Rating: K+ (brief violence)__  
_

"Tony...I think there's something wrong."

Pausing, Tony remained in a crouch on floor of his workshop (Dummy had knocked a pile of blueprints down from the shelf that they had previously been resting). The call had obviously been from Mags - of course it was, she was the only one who knew about this specific frequency - but she knew to use it under urgent circumstances only. When she spoke once more, Tony could hear the tremble in her usually steady voice.

"I'm serious. _Dead_ serious. Something's wrong."

The comm. link crackled again, this time louder. There was silence followed by an explosion, cutting the signal permanently.

What occurred after was a blurred memory to Tony, but he did recall catching glimpses of blood, burn marks, and rubble. In the midst of the wreckage lay Maggie, sprawled out and charred and not breathing.

As Tony moved to remove his helmet in order to hastily perform CPR, the brunette in his arms suddenly coughed and sputtered back to life. Maggie's goggles were broken and shattered on the ground around them. Tony feared she would get cut from the shards, but she shook her head (almost causing herself to topple over) and kicked them away rather haphazardly. She appeared to be returning from her daze slowly, but once she rolled her head back to see Tony, she paused to take a few breaths.

"That was entirely your fault."

Turns out she was right (she always was).

* * *

_**#23 – Return**_

_Word Count: 361  
Rating: K+_

As Tony Stark miraculously returned to the world of the living, he was caught completely unawares when Maggie was waiting for him as he stepped off the plane.

From what he could gather from the rest of his staff, Pepper (bless her heart) had called out a manhunt for her when the news of his capture had first been broadcast. Of course she knew exactly where to find her; Maggie was only Tony's favorite topic of conversation, after all. Tony had definitely spoken of her (repeatedly), and quite fondly for that matter. It was truly a miracle if Pepper could get him to shut up about her.

Seeing her for the first time in seven years, he realized just how different this Maggie was now from the Maggie that had gone away to college (he reminded himself that _she_ hadn't been the one to leave).

Oh G*d, he had missed her.

The same loneliness he had felt in the years after he parted ways with Maggie suddenly came rushing back to the forefront of his mind, flooding his senses. This neural overload seemed to cause Tony to remember everything about her that he had forced himself to forget three years ago.

_She smells like flowers, a different one every month because she gets bored easily. She has seventeen different smiles, and right now she's giving me number eight. She has a tattoo of a sparrow on her hip because she's always wanted to fly away from the corruption of the world. She has an odd fetish for my hair, but I don't mind it because it feels amazing when she touches me._

Tony halted in his thoughts and movement as he realized that Maggie was directly in front of him, mirroring his awkward stance. Shivering in the breeze and attempting to catch her breath, she laughed wetly, hands stuffed in her pockets as she wasn't sure what to do with them.

"Stark."

"Nolan."

A series of thuds echoed throughout the terminal as their bags hit the ground without care. Their tears pooled together on the floor as they embraced each other tightly, forgetting their differences if only for a moment.

* * *

_**#42 – Study**_

_Word Count: 273  
Rating: K+ (mentions of genitalia)_

The faint crackle of paper could be heard moments before a wad of paper flew past Maggie's shoulder.

"Psssst."

Her eyes glared up through her eyelashes then returned her attention to her textbook.

"Shhh."

A moment passed in silence

Crackle, swish. This time it brushed her clothing.

"...Pssssssssst."

Maggie huffed and resisted the urge to slam her book down. "C'mon, Tony, this is a library, could you not act like a three year old? You're supposed to be helping me study for my biology final tomorrow."

Tony watched Maggie as another few seconds went by. An evil smile began to spread across his lips, but he quickly suppressed it.

"About that...this book is super informative. You should really check it out." Tony shoved the book across the table he and Maggie were seated at with a barely hidden smirk. Skeptically, she reached forward and began flipping through it before she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Tony, this book is about the reproductive system."

"Yeah, but look at page 53. The detail in the diagram is spectacular!"

"Tony Stark!" Maggie stared at him with a blush slowly spreading down her neck, but hiding a smile of her own. Lowering her voice again, she cleared her throat and added, "You're right, though it could use a bit more shading on the scrotum."

Tony choked and spluttered out some form of loud laughter, which caused the librarian to escort them off of the premises.

* * *

_**#15 – Audience**_

_Word Count: 243  
Rating: T (swearing, violence)  
Notes: A few of you guys were asking about Maggie's abilities and how she got them. This is just a brief overview of the experiment that went awry, which caused her body to mutate to the point where she basically radiates arc reactor energy._

_They're all just staring at her. Like a f*cking animal in a cage. How dare they._

The man cursed himself and pounded the glass again and again, feeling it weaken slightly under the pressure, but not enough to so much as crack. His screams for help were drowned out by the huge machine whirring to life. His brown eyes were blown wide with panic as he forced himself to focus on the frail girl's form that lay before him.

It was meant to be a cure. She was supposed to get better. He didn't pay as much attention as he should have. He inadvertently did this to her.

Tony Stark had just sent the woman he loved to her death.

"_Maggie!_"

He couldn't possibly hope to tear his eyes away from her writhing form that was changing colors and shape and becoming something that was _not her_. This _thing_ would never be her. The machine melted and molded her into its own creation, and her shrill and terrible screams echoed hauntingly past the viewing window.

_God help her if she survives this nightmare._

Tony sobbed and covered his eyes, slipping down to the floor in a heap. He wearily turned his gaze back to the crowd seated in the room, oohing and aahing at the light show that was being provided for them and not lifting a finger to help Maggie, _his poor Maggie_...

He realized he was no better than them.

* * *

_**#8 – Nostalgia**_

_Word Count: 372  
Rating: K+_

A week after Tony and Maggie confessed to the press that they were, indeed, a couple, they decided to get away from the world for a week or two and just spend time together at Tony's beach front. So far, Maggie had spent the majority of the time going through boxes and organizing her boyfriend's life in general. Tony had been finishing up some blueprints when he noticed Maggie sitting on the couch. He could practically feel her shivering from across the room. Glancing her way, he muttered, "What?"

"Just...a picture. It's nothing."

Tony scoffed and made a beeline for the other side of the couch, knowing better than to take that as an excuse. "No, _seriously_, what?"

Maggie shook her head slowly in wonder. "Why...would you keep _this_ photo? Out of all of them, I thought you would just throw this one, rip it up, incinerate it, _something_." She held a worn and fading photograph between her fingertips. It had been taken years ago, in another life where the two of them were in high school. It was Maggie's yearbook picture when she was a sophomore, and it still ached for Tony to look at it for too long.

That year, Maggie had a seizure, followed by a diagnosis of throat cancer. It was the worst year of Maggie's (and Tony's) life, and she had spent it by barely survived the chemo treatments and the bouts that overtook her at the most inopportune times.

The picture held clear evidence of her struggle for survival. Her hair was nonexistent and her face was terribly gaunt. The shirt she had chosen to wear hung on her shoulders loosely and the shoulder had slipped off on one side, revealing a sickly thin collarbone.

"Tony...dear Lord, _why_?"

He would never tell her that he had always felt responsible for her sickness. She was his reason to go on, to wake up every morning. Whenever he needed a kick in the pants, this was the picture he used. He had to see what he had done to the most important person in his life. He wanted to make things right and never let Maggie get hurt again.

"Just for memory's sake, I guess."

* * *

**A/N: All rights and properties belong to their respective owners. The only thing that belongs to me is Maggie Nolan.**


End file.
